Kamloops city council will decide next week whether to begin work towards banning single-use plastics.

A motion from councillor Dale Bass asks city staff to create a bylaw banning plastic bags, straws and cutlery.

Bass says we are killing the planet by using plastics in our day-to-day lives.

“This isn’t new. Businesses around the country and around the world are embracing this. The Retail Council of B.C. is in favour of it, the Retail Council of Canada is in favour of it. Much of the supplementary information I gave to admin that is not in the motion came from the Retail Council of Canada. This is just something we have to do.”

Bass says single-use plastic bags in particular are used for 12 minutes on average and take up to 1,000 years to break down. She says alternatives for single-use plastics are readily available.

The motion, if endorsed by council, asks city staff to present a draft bylaw at a council meeting at the end of May.